Asakusa 浅草

Asakusa is the old downtown, or ‘shitamachi’ area of Tokyo city. It’s where you can go to see what Tokyo used to be like. Central to Asakusa is the 1300 year old Sensou-ji. For most people, Sensou-ji and the big lantern adorning the Kaminari-mon (Thunder and Lightning gate) are the main draws but there are tons of old shops and restaurants to visit away from the maddening crowds swarming through Nakamise-dori. Unfortunately, I missed out on some of the eateries I hoped to get to as they were closed for the new year holiday. I still have my map though so I plan on going back.